


For Each Other

by aces



Category: Stargate SG-1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-13
Updated: 2010-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-07 05:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aces/pseuds/aces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>If the three snippets actually do somehow magically connect together the way I think they <em>should</em>, I shall be pleasantly surprised.  Thanks to Tripoli, Babs, Barb, Otter, and Jen for synonym ideas for "drunk."  Their help is greatly appreciated by everyone but Daniel.  *sunny smile*</p>
    </blockquote>





	For Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> If the three snippets actually do somehow magically connect together the way I think they _should_, I shall be pleasantly surprised. Thanks to Tripoli, Babs, Barb, Otter, and Jen for synonym ideas for "drunk." Their help is greatly appreciated by everyone but Daniel. *sunny smile*

Team night.

Team. Night.

Sam's not used to hanging out at her CO's house. It was somewhat frowned upon by most of her COs, in fact, before she joined this team. She wasn't used to spending much time with her co-workers outside of work, come to that. She didn't usually feel quite—welcome.

"Oh, that's a load of crap," Daniel's voice was fuzzily emanating from the recliner. He was sprawled so deeply into it that Sam couldn't actually see his face, only the top of the beer bottle peeking over the armrest and legs stretched out toward the coffee table. "I mean, did you—did you see that? Would you just look at that? That's _total_ crap!"

"Why, Daniel," the colonel drawled as he crossed back into the living room, dropping a can of root beer in front of Teal'c before sprawling onto the couch again next to Sam. "I didn't know you could slur with such facility."

"I'm not slurring," Daniel's voice protested. "That's crap too, Jack."

The colonel glanced at Sam, and she joggled his arm very lightly, because she didn't want to start giggling and hurt Daniel's feelings. He might start calling her crap as well.

"Daniel Jackson is inebriated," Teal'c stated, and popped open his root beer.

"Yes, Teal'c," Jack replied, staring at the television screen as if he were actually interested in whatever was on, which Sam knew full well he wasn't. Every time he'd tried to change it, though, Daniel had protested. Vociferously. "Daniel Jackson is extremely intoxicated. Sloshed. Plastered. Wasted. Hammered. Soused. Tits up, three sheets to the wind, absolutely shit-faced."

"Tanked," Sam added helpfully. She could feel the colonel's gaze sliding toward her, but she kept her own gaze ruthlessly on the TV.

"Exactly," the colonel agreed heartily, turning to Teal'c. "That is what Daniel Jackson is, Teal'c. Take note; you'll be quizzed later."

The eyebrow was decidedly raised. Sam peeked around Jack's shoulder to look and quickly sat back, smirking. She could smirk. Smirking was allowed, because Daniel was hidden so deeply in the chair he couldn't see a thing.

"'M'not," Daniel called from his recliner, just to remind them that he was in fact still there and still conscious.

"Right, Daniel," Jack said, not sounding particularly convinced.

Later that night, Daniel was snoring quietly into his chest (and Sam just knew his neck was going to remind him continually tomorrow that that's a really _stupid_ way to pass out), the colonel had turned off the TV, and Teal'c was frowning thoughtfully at the pictures on the fireplace mantel. Jack stood up with a repressed groan, looked down at the archaeologist and said, "Either big boy here's gonna sleep in my spare room tonight or somebody helps me maneuver him out to the truck."

"I can help you get him to the spare room, sir," Sam said quickly, and then turned to the other man. "And I can drive you back to the base if you want, Teal'c," she smiled at him.

"You sure?" the colonel said, looking at her closely. "It's no problem for me to shepherd everyone home."

"I've had the least to drink," Sam turned her smile to her CO. "Really, sir, it's no problem."

His lips quirked, in that half-smile that she still couldn't quite define, and he nodded. "Okay, Carter," he said. "T, you mind doing a bit of cleanup while we wrangle Daniel to the other room?"

Teal'c inclined his head, and Jack leaned over to heft the archaeologist up. Sam joined him quickly, supporting Daniel's back before wrapping an arm around his waist while Jack got his shoulders from the other side.

"Okay," he said. "You ready, Carter?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said, and they stumbled forward. Jack cracked his knee against the couch, and Sam's shoulder scraped against the hallway wall. Sam managed to restrain her cursing slightly better than the colonel.

They let the sleeping Daniel fall to the bed and looked down at him for a moment before looking up at each other.

"Well," said Jack. "This has been fun."

Sam grinned. "Yeah," she said. He smiled back, not the half-smile, and she added, "Thanks for this, Colonel."

He waved a hand dismissively and said, "I can drive Teal'c back, no prob. Or he can spend the night here."

"It won't be any trouble," Sam said. She was surprised he'd managed to get these nights off for Teal'c out of the mountain at all; she didn't want to press their luck. "Really, sir." She paused. "Well. We should probably get going."

"Right."

Sam led the way back to the living room. She wasn't used to being invited to her CO's house. She wasn't used to hanging out with her co-workers. But she might start to liking these team nights.

*

"More coffee, Major?"

Sam shook her head, suppressing a yawn and a shiver. The nearest settlement to the Gate on this planet was a two-day trek; Jonas didn't know why there weren't remains of an older village by the Stargate, as would have been expected, but the modern village belonged to several somebodies, and diplomacy was diplomacy.

That didn't negate the fact that it got cold at night and they couldn't light fires in tents.

The colonel was prowling a perimeter; they were unsure how friendly the natives would turn out to be and how far they wandered from home after dark. Teal'c sat at the campfire next to Sam, Buddha-like in his still contemplation of the fire. Sam wondered if Junior was keeping him warm.

"How about you, Teal'c? Need anything before I pack up the food?"

"I am fine, Jonas," Teal'c answered, and perhaps his voice was a little softer than it might have been with someone else, than it might have been a few years ago.

"Okay," Jonas said, and Sam hid a grin. That most ubiquitous of words, she mused to herself, subtly sidling closer to Teal'c's body heat. Okay. Known the universe over because of them, probably. That and "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto" would, Sam was sure, be the extent of American culture remembered after the country disappeared into time and memory. It was a somewhat disturbing possibility.

Jonas hummed under his breath as he packed away ration packs and cooking utensils. Sam was unsure if she recognized the tune or not; it might have been something from the current pop charts, it might have been a traditional Kelownan tune for all she knew. Perhaps she should pay more attention to the music scene. Perhaps she should just admit she was as good as tone-deaf.

She watched him finish neatly packing things away and then sitting down himself, across the fire from her and Teal'c. He too stared into the fire, a distant look on his face. She idly wondered what he was thinking about.

"Major Carter?"

He was looking at her, confused, and she realized she'd been staring. She smiled at him sheepishly and said, "Sam. Remember?"

He nodded, smiling back wryly, and returned to the fire. Sam shook her head. It was probably mere politeness, this insistence of his to call her by her rank, or perhaps something more esoteric such as whatever reason Teal'c had for calling her Major Carter.

She wondered if Jonas had noticed that Jack called him Jonas. Not Quinn, not even Dr. Quinn with obvious jokes attached, just Jonas. She wondered if Jack himself noticed what he called Daniel's replacement on the team. Somehow, she was grateful that Jonas didn't call the colonel Jack.

"Isn't there a custom on Earth about telling stories around a fire?" Jonas asked, glancing up at Sam. She felt Teal'c shift slightly next to her, turning his head to also gaze at her.

Sam blinked. "Well, yes. Usually ghost stories when we're kids in Girl or Boy Scouts…" She paused at Jonas's furrowed brow. "Surely in reading about the customs surrounding campfires you came across references to Girl and Boy Scouts?"

"I didn't get that far in my research," he admitted.

Sam raised her eyebrows. "I had a report to prepare!" he protested. "And then I started researching other storytelling practices. Kelownans respect oratory more than narration as entertainment."

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "Jaffa tell stories while waiting for battle," Teal'c said, "and they compose stories in the aftermath of battle, if they live. But never 'ghost' stories. They dislike speaking of the souls that linger after death, preferring a clean severing from this life."

"Oh, come on," Sam said, leaning her left arm and leg against Teal'c's right side and silently sighing at the comforting warmth the contact gave her. "Surely as children mothers and fathers take their kids outside after dark and tell them a good ghost story or two. Don't they do that in Kelowna either?"

"My mother always sang me to sleep," Jonas said softly. "Sometimes my father would read to me, until I got old enough to read to him."

"Drey'auc sang lullabies to R'yac," Teal'c said. "We have what might be considered 'fairy tales' to tell children."

"And probably nowadays on Earth kids listen to their mp3 players and play video games on their Gameboys before going to sleep," Sam said lightly, trying to shake off the melancholy that had just come over her. Teal'c shifted again, making them both more comfortable.

"I'd like to play a video game," Jonas said. "The controls don't look very hard."

This from the man who had learned how to operate the base computers the first week he was on Earth and allowed near them, who had reprogrammed the colonel's VCR after a power outage (without telling the colonel he'd done so), and who had completely screwed up the printer networking system the second month he was on base in a way Sam still didn't fully understand and he wasn't willing to explain. It wasn't often he steadfastly refused to talk about something, but she'd get him to open his mouth eventually.

"I'm sure the colonel can recommend a few games and control systems to you," Sam said wryly, and Jonas laughed softly.

"O'Neill has his own biases," Teal'c said. "Perhaps it would be best to do your research independently."

"Surely you have some preferences, Teal'c?" Jonas asked. "Or you, Major Car—Sam?"

"I do not play video games," Teal'c pronounced.

Sam snorted and looked sidelong at her companion. "C'mon. I can't believe the colonel hasn't introduced you to some of his fighter pilot games."

"Indeed he has," Teal'c responded. "But I do not play them."

Sam smiled and closed her eyes. She was warm. She was comfortable.

"Well," Jonas said quietly after a long silence, "I think I should get to bed. I've got last watch."

"Perhaps you should also sleep, Major Carter," Teal'c suggested, and Sam felt the vibration of his voice through where their arms pressed against each other. "I will stay here to kel-no-reem."

She was reluctant to leave the fire, reluctant to move when she was so nicely situated. But she nodded and pulled herself up, and Jonas paused politely.

"Good night, Jonas," she said and offered him a small smile.

"'Night, Sam," he replied, and grinned, before ducking into the other tent.

"G'night, Teal'c," Sam smiled down at the still-seated Jaffa.

He inclined his head and looked back up at her. "Good night, Samantha," he said.

She brushed a hand against his shoulder and slipped into her tent.

*

"Come on," Daniel said, appearing in the doorway to her lab. Sam looked up from her computer screen of equations and saw Teal'c standing next to him. They were both dressed in civvies. Teal'c was sporting a baseball hat tonight.

She blinked. "Come on where?" she asked.

"Come on," Daniel repeated, striding across the room and tugging at her arm. She could imagine him doing this as a six-year-old, excited about some new find in the back yard. Or, in his case, in the desert next to a pyramid. "You need to get changed."

He and Teal'c herded her out of her lab, down the corridor. "Uh…guys?" she asked. Teal'c was walking on her right, serenely. Daniel had a hand on the back of her left shoulder and was walking quite quickly. "Daniel, what's going on?"

"Hurry," he said, and pushed her gently into the changing room.

"Okay," she said a couple minutes later as she stepped out. "_Now_ will you tell me what's going on?"

"No," said Teal'c.

"Nope," grinned Daniel.

Sam glared at them both. "I could order you to tell me, you know," she said.

"Unlikely, Colonel Carter," said Teal'c.

"As if," said Daniel, and took her arm again. "C'mon, one more stop."

"Daniel…"

"It's a surprise," he said.

They stopped outside the general's office. Sam refused to budge. "I am _not_ bothering the general," she said.

"Don't worry, Sam," Daniel answered blithely before knocking on the door and slipping inside. Teal'c followed, closing the door behind him. She heard a few barks from the general, a few rumblings from Teal'c, a few reasonably-voiced murmurings from Daniel.

A minute later, the door opened and the general glared at her. "Carter," he said, "do you have anything to do with this?"

"I'm as clueless as you are, sir," Sam said, ruthlessly suppressing a smirk. Daniel and Teal'c were smug enough for all of them.

"Give me five minutes," O'Neill tossed over his shoulder at the other two men, and stalked down the corridor.

"What _are_ you two doing?" Sam tried to ask when he'd disappeared, but Daniel and Teal'c still refused to say anything.

Five minutes later, they were all topside, piling into Daniel's car. Twenty minutes after that, they were being seated in the bar with the best Buffalo wings in Colorado Springs, Dean Martin crooning over the muted chatter and laughter of the other patrons.

Jack glared at the two conspirators. "Just for the record," he said, "I _should_ still be working."

"Yes, Jack," Daniel said, carefully looking at the TV over Jack's head. "So we all should. Right, Teal'c?"

"Indeed, Daniel Jackson."

"Surely it's not as bad if we're all playing hooky, sir?" Sam chimed in, and Daniel bumped her shoulder as he raised a hand to cover his mouth. Sam kicked him lightly under the table and gave the general a dazzling smile.

"Don't _you_ start, Carter," Jack growled even as he looked over the menu.

He settled down when the beer and Buffalo wings arrived, and by the time the wings were almost polished off and the second pitcher of beer had arrived, he was telling them an amusing story about Walter, a cup of coffee, and a large pile of folders. Well, it was amusing in retrospect. For Jack. Perhaps not for Walter yet.

Teal'c had gone to pay the bill and Jack had gone to the bathroom. Sam rested her head on Daniel's shoulder, yawning. "This was a good idea, Daniel," she said.

"I have those sometimes," he agreed, playing with a straw wrapper. She could hear the grin in his voice.

"We never see the general outside briefings anymore…"

"We all needed a break," Daniel answered.

Team night. Team. Night.

"Let's go, campers," Jack said as he approached from one end of the bar, just as Teal'c rejoined them from the other end. "Busy day tomorrow. Lots of reports to read, lots of signatures to scribble in triplicate."

"Up and at 'em," Daniel said quietly, putting an arm around Sam's shoulders to slide her out of the booth before him. He let Teal'c drive, since the Jaffa had drunk the least beer of them all, and Jack sat next to him in front. Sam rested her head on Daniel's shoulder in the backseat, because her head felt too heavy to stay up by itself. Daniel rested his head on top of hers, and she could feel his chest rising and falling in time with hers.

Sam sighed, comfortably.

 

_They are one person  
They are two alone  
They are three together  
They are for each other…_


End file.
